Oxyporus yixianus Solodovnikov & Yue sp. nov., a new Early Cretaceous fossil rove beetle species, is described from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, China. It is clearly placed in Oxyporus Fabricius, 1775, the extant and only genus of the subfamily Oxyporinae. In addition to the hitherto-known, much younger fossils of Oxyporinae, the significantly older age of this newly discovered species makes the currently accepted phylogenetic hypothesis that Oxyporinae is a basal lineage of the Staphylininae group more plausible. The remarkably modern and specialization-rich morphology of Oxyporus yixianus leads to the assumption that this species exemplifies a rather derived stage of divergence of Oxyporinae from the stem of the Staphylininae group. Divergence of Oxyporinae from the rest of the Staphylininae group lineage may have begun significantly earlier than the Early Cretaceous, and the fungus-associated biology of Oxyporinae is also apparently older than documented by Oxyporus yixianus.

Prophalangopsidae was a diverse family during the Late Mesozoic, but the variation and sexual dimorphism in their forewing morphologies are rarely discussed. Based on 43 specimens – of both sexes – from eight species, an investigation into wing venation variation among/within species of Prophalangopsidae was performed using geometric morphometrics and morphological comparisons. The results indicate that wing characters are reliable for taxonomy in fossil Prophalangopsidae and that variation in wing shape and venation is common within species. The structures of the forewings are analogous between sexes within species, and it is possible to pair males and females for a fossil species. Due to the potential existence of synonyms arising from the lack of knowledge on wing venation variation within species and sexes, the species richness of fossil prophalangopsids is probably over-estimated. The role of wing venation characters in systematics and phylogenetic analysis needs to be further analysed. In addition, two new species of Prophalangopsidae from the Middle Jurassic are described. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BD2D00D6-9E55-46F9-AEB3-122FBBF99A06

The abundance of insects in Burmese amber illustrates a highly diverse orthoptera community of the mid-Cretaceous, but the records of ripipterygids are relatively rare. Here, we reviewed the genus of Magnidactylus (Xu, Fang and Jarzembowski, 2020) and transfered it from Tridactylidae to Ripipterygidae. Based on four ambers specimens collected from northern Myanmar, two new species, Magnidactylusmirus sp. nov. and Magnidactylusgracilis sp. nov., wereerected. M.mirus sp. nov. can be characterized by its basal segment and apical segment of paraproctal lobes, which are equally thick and clavate. M.gracilis sp. nov. can be characterized by its apical segment of paraproctal lobes, which are distinctly swollen. Additionally, in order to facilitate the classification of amber specimens of Tridactyloidea, a key to the genera ofambers in this superfamily is provided.

Scales have evolved independently in multiple insect orders, contributing to colour diversity through both pigmentary and structural mechanisms. Within Orthoptera, the subfamily Mogoplistinae (Grylloidea: Mogoplistidae) represents the sole lineage bearing specialized scales, yet the evolutionary origins of this unique body covering remain poorly understood. Here, we report four new species critical to resolving this question: Protomogoplistes ciliatus sp. nov., Crinitipes calvus gen. et sp. nov., Birmanimogoplistes acutifolius gen. et sp. nov. and Angustisquama bicolorata gen. et sp. nov. We demonstrate that Mogoplistinae scales are derived from modified setae, and our results reveal that scale evolution in Mogoplistidae followed an ‘innovation-first, radiation-later’ trajectory, with this key innovation emerging by the mid-Cretaceous. The development of scales probably served as a pivotal driver, facilitating Mogoplistinae’s subsequent ecological diversification.

Banker plant systems have the advantages of introducing natural enemies preventively and maintaining by providing alternative prey, thus controlling the pests sustainably. Banker plant systems are usually composed of three factors: a banker (secondary) plant, an alternative prey, and a shared predator (attacking an alternative prey on the secondary plant, and the targeted pest on the crop). However, for most banker plant systems, there is a lack of understanding regarding the dynamic relationship among these elements, with detrimental effects on practical applications. Therefore, in this study, the control of Myzus persicae on Capsicum annum by the Coccinella septempunctata–Megoura japonica–Vicia faba banker plant system was used as the research system. The effects of different release time of predators, different initial numbers of alternative prey (Me. japonica) and different initial ratios of target pests/alternative prey on the indirect interaction of two aphids and the biological control effect of shared predators were tested. The occurrence of indirect interactions between the two aphid preys, the impact on population dynamics, and biological control effectiveness of the shared predator C. septempunctata were investigated. When the initial numbers of both species of aphids were equal (200 each), the delay between aphid and C. septempunctata introduction in the cage had no effect on My. persicae, but Me. japonica showed lower numbers when testing the least time between predatory introductions. When the numbers of the two aphids were manipulated, the My. persicae population was significantly reduced by the predator only at a ratio of My. persicae to Me. japonica < 1, while initial ratios ≥ 1 enabled My. persicae population growth. In 1–6 days, the control effect of C. septempunctata was the best. Principal component analysis showed that the experimental time, initial numbers of Me. japonica, and relative numbers of Me. japonica affected the predation of My. persicae by C. septempunctata. In addition, when the initial aphid ratio was greater than 1/4, C. septempunctata was able to effectively control My. persicae. Overall, our study confirmed the number-mediated indirect interaction (apparent competition) relationship and its impact on prey population dynamics. We provide useful information for optimizing banker plant systems, to boost biocontrol of aphid pests.